


Nothing Stays the Same

by ChibiTabatha



Category: TWRP | Tupper Ware Remix Party (Band)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I promise, Nobody is Dead, Some Swearing, Sung does not know how to care for himself, TWBB 2018, twbb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-05 22:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14628639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiTabatha/pseuds/ChibiTabatha
Summary: Doctor Sung adores the ways humans change and grow, his neighbour being the best example to date. Will watching this human grow and age teach him anything new? Maybe not. But when an old hurt comes to light maybe, just maybe, this small human girl can teach him to change and grow.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Second year writing for TWBB, I'm really happy with how this turned out and you don't have to read last years to get this, but this does take place after Coming to Grips.
> 
> [Music](https://open.spotify.com/user/heartsofking/playlist/2zDGAo7aa6oL8Id2L2LLI5) for this was compiled by the very lovely [Archer](https://averysmallcactus.tumblr.com/), who can also be found [here](https://docsexbang.tumblr.com/) and [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/somethingsintheair/pseuds/somethingsintheair). If you're interested in the original blog post, you can find it here!
> 
> The [Art](http://philosophicalrocketeer.tumblr.com/tagged/my-stuff), was made by the fantastic [Dannie](http://philosophicalrocketeer.tumblr.com/). You can also find them on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/starquails). If you want to see the original post, it can be found here!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this collaboration! Honestly it was a blast to write.

Earth was such a beautiful place. So full of life. Always thriving. Something always going on. Such a small chance for boredom to strike here.  
  
So many different kinds of life! Plants! Animals! People! Watching humans grow was so fascinating! From tiny creatures that could barely move or babble to creatures capable of walking, talking and other complicated movements. Of course, he and the band weren’t well received at first. Appearances and what not. No matter, they were here to rock and rock they would!  
  
Humans were much more accepting of their appearances when they wore their helmets. So much so that their neighbors would openly talk to them if they covered their faces. Mind you Meouch’s disguise was the weakest, and Hogan, well, he was a robot. Really only he and Phobos needed to hide their appearances. Since Phobos glowed-in-the-dark and he was shiny.  
  
One of his favorite things was watching humans grow, and age. Their one set of neighbors were far more accepting of the band, despite the lady of the house fainting on their arrival. They were a young couple with solid heads on their shoulders. Watching them grow, get promotions and change jobs was engaging. Sometime after the wife had become pregnant she left her job, began painting. The gentleman told them she was more delicate than some other mothers out there. Of course hearing that Sung had to learn all about gestation and reproduction in humans. He may or may not have gotten banned from a hospital, but that's not important to the narrative.  
  
Holding the tiny earth infant, blew his mind. So small, so delicate! The plates in the skull still slowly merging and strengthening! Amazing!  
  
Unfortunately small earth humans are grabby, very grabby. When he passed the baby to Meouch to hold, the small creature grabbed a fistful of mane and tugged. The giggling was cute, almost dropping the baby was not. This small creature, whose name was Tabatha, was not allowed near the aliens after that. They were allowed to watch from their side of the fence. It was heartbreaking, but he also didn't want to spend overnight in a holding cell.  
  
Phobos, like himself, was enthralled by this small creature. He would get texts on his phone, news of something amazing the child had done. Hogan made them a bench they could stand on to look over the fence and it was the best thing they owned. They would watch the small human for hours.  
  
She grew, she learned to walk, talk, read, write. The creature would draw them pictures at something called ‘Kin-dee-guard-en’, all of them ended up pinned somewhere in the house.  
  
It felt like the blink of an eye. The child was no longer small and she invited them. **_Them!_ ** To her sixth birthday party! Of course they wanted to go! But of course, like all good things, this was not to be. The missus shook her head, said she didn't want to scare any of the other parents or their children. Sung was devastated, his chance to see a real earth birthday party, taken away before he even had a chance to ruin it!  
  
The woman must have seen something on his face, certainly not in his reflective eyes, because she smiled at him softly. “We do need someone to watch her, I have a gallery on the other side of the country I have to attend. My husband also can't stop working. It would make sense for someone she knows to watch her during the day. If you'd like?” he could feel the way his face lit up at the question.  
  
“Of course!” he grabbed and shook her hand, excitement coursing through his body.  
  
Of course, they didn't think anything through really. He told the band, they got excited, they attempted to child proof the house. Their house. Somehow it escaped them that they would have to go to their neighbors house to look after the child. They all thought she would come spend the day with them at their place. When the phone rang and their neighbor exasperatedly told them to get over there right away it clued in. He would get to see a normal human household!  
  
Practically jumping over the fence, Sung waited for no one. The father handed him a written list, keys to the house if they wanted to take her to the park to play, and the child. Wow. She was so much bigger now! No longer did she fit along his forearm! He had to use most of his arm to support her weight. The gentleman kissed her forehead and was off like a shot, climbing into his car to fight Toronto traffic.  
  
“Well, what would you like to do Tabby? Can I call you Tabby? I'm going to call you Tabby,” he nodded at the young girl.  
  
At this point his band mates were waving the father off and beginning to crowd the front yard they've never stepped foot on. “Can I do your hair?” big green eyes blinked up at him.  
  
“Of course! Phobos and Meouch too, right?” he couldn't help but share the small creature’s enthusiasm.  
  
“Yeah! Hogan can help me!” and the most odd occurrence happened. The small child held her arms out to the large silent cyborg, not a drop of fear in her eyes. Adult humans still shied away from him, but not this small, delicate thing. Havve Hogan, gently tucked his hands under her arms, and lifted her into his own grasp. A silent nod to her giggles.  
  
The larger creature brushed past him and across the threshold into new territory. Sung only watched as Tabby leaned her small forehead against the metal of Havve’s faceplate and mumbled something to him. The tall silent cyborg turned and carried the girl upstairs, the sound of her soft giggles fading. Meouch pushed past him, followed by Phobos. “Hey kiddo, you want us to chill in the living room?” the cat man called out into the house.  
  
Laughter, and a few thumps from up stairs, “Yes please!”  
  
Meouch and Phobos shared a concerned look before heading further into the house. Sung shook his head, finally entering into the house. Locking the door he took in the small mudroom, it was the same as theirs mostly. Tiled floor, sliding doors for their coats and shoes, a rack for boots and umbrellas. Something their neighbors had that they did not was a small set of hooks on a small plank of wood, a single set of keys hung from one of the hooks. Looking at the key in his hand he hung it up on the rack, along with his house keys.  
  
Small feet came thundering down the stairs, he turned to see the small girl smiling up at him, large green eyes sparkling up at him. She bolted towards him and took one of his hands, “This way! This way!” she pulled him into the house. Down the hall, into living room, the house was laid out the exact same as theirs, all the rooms in the same spot. Meouch was lounging on the couch, Phobos sitting in front of the coffee table on the floor, Havve sitting next to him with a plethora of hair pins and elastics in front of him, a hair brush in his hands. “Hogan, can you start brushing Phobos’ hair?” she tugged Sung over to the loveseat. Tabby sat on the furniture, “Can you sit on the floor so I can reach?” he nodded and sat on the floor.  
  
Small tiny fingers ran through his hair, along his scalp, it was very soothing. A sharp resounding smack sounded in the room, his eyes he didn’t even know were closed opened to look at Havve and Phobos. “SORRY PHOBOS. I DID NOT MEAN TO PULL SO SHARPLY ON YOUR HAIR,” Hogan pulled his hands away from the silvery strands.  
  
“No no no no,” Tabby placed her hands on his shoulders and vaulted over his head. She shuffled over to Hogan and took the brush from his hands, “You always brush from the bottom,” she gently took some hair in her hands and started from a quarter of the way from the bottom and ran the brush through it gently. “Isn’t that much better Phobos?” she smiled at him. He nodded, his own smile warming his features. “Since I can’t trust you with such an important task Hogan, you can do Sung’s hair,” she motioned for the taller creature to get out of her way.  
  
“PARDON ME DOCTOR,” the man sat on the open side of the loveseat and shifted over so he could place his legs on either side of him.  
  
“You don’t have to be so polite dude,” Meouch rolled to look at them, a small smirk making his whiskers twitch.  
  
“IN THE PRESENCE OF A LADY YOU MUST ALWAYS BE POLITE. CORRECT LADY TABATHA?”  
  
She just hummed, making quick work of Phobos’ long hair, “Yes that’s true. Phobos, what do you think of braids?” Tabby was running her small hands through the full length of his hair. Watching this exchange he realized that the brushed length of hair was longer, smoother looking. She leaned over his shoulder and mumbled something in his ear. He only nodded, a small smile on his lips.  
  
A clip dug into his scalp, “Ow. Hey! Watch it,” he reached up to touch the sore spot. His fingers brushed a plastic bow in his hair. “Oh cool,” he gently explored the clips and bobbles in his hair. All placed with no order or method. The elastic with what felt like dice in the smallest ponytail in the universe just above his ear. A cat shaped clip just behind it. A basic barrette above that. Becoming aware of how his hair was sticking out in every direction was both ridiculous and great.  
  
“DONE,” the robotic voice sounded in the quiet room.  
  
“Perfect! Meouch can you take a picture using the camera? Please?” big green eyes turned from the braid in her hand. She had weaved a ribbon into it, so a pop of red stood out in the silver strands.  
  
“Can do kiddo,” he looked at the coffee table a moment before grabbing the small disposable camera. “You two gonna pose?” he snickered under his breath. He held his fingers up in a peace sign and made a face, he couldn’t tell what Hogan was doing but he was for sure doing something near his neck. Meouch laughed slightly, “Okay, okay, now a normal one.” As he rolled the wheel Hogan’s hands rested on his shoulders slightly, and he held onto his crossed ankles. He smiled up at the camera, the click and whine of it echoing in his ears. The wheel was wound again, “Hey kiddo, Phobs, this way,” Meouch beckoned to the two on the other side of the coffee table. They looked up with smiles on their faces as the small machine whined again.  
  
  
  
“Almost done Phobos,” she patted the Lord’s back. She had pulled his hair into two French braids along his scalp, leading from the crown of his head to the base of his neck. Where they met she had combined them into a single braid. Once she got to the end of it she used a simple black elastic to hold it all together. Pulling the loose ends of the ribbon up she tied a very small bow, “There, no pinching? Good?” She gently ran her hand along the length of his bound hair. He nodded and made the okay sign, “Perfect!”  
  
Pushing his hair over one shoulder she ushered him over to the other two, Meouch taking another picture of them normally. “Guess it’s my turn now huh?” he smiled at the smallest in the room. She nodded and moved to the other side of the couch, Sung finally noticed the multitudes of colourful elastics on her wrists. Meouch flopped onto the floor, while Tabby crawled over the arm of the couch to get at the man’s mane.  
  
“Let me know if it hurts, okay?” she gently scratched behind his ears, careful of the piercings and the metal tag. The man purred from deep in his chest, a soft nod. She brushed through his mane, using both the brush and her hands so she wouldn’t catch his ears. It was hypnotizing to watch her work. Nimble hands working his mane into braids and ponytails and a small bun on top of his head between his ears. The whole time he was purring, and Sung could hardly blame him. Tabby was so gentle with them, like they were the delicate ones, not herself.  
  
“Done?” Meouch blinked up at her.  
  
“Done,” she smiled and scratched behind his ears again. “Time for a picture,” she took the camera from the cat man. All the men cramped onto the love seat, “Perfect. We’ll do a silly one and a normal one okay?”  
  
They all nodded and for the silly one he felt Hogan’s hands around his neck loosely. Sung himself was pointing finger guns at Meouch. He could see that Phobos was holding his right hand up to make an L at the camera while his left hand pointed to Hoggan. Meouch had his ears flattened against his head and was ‘clawing’ at Phobos’ leg beside him. Once the click and whirring sounded he felt Meouch’s arm around his shoulders, and without looking he could tell the others were leaning closer to them. “Peace,” he held up his fingers and saw Meouch do the same.  
  
Later, when the photos were developed, Sung put those in frames and hung them in the front hall. It wasn’t the last time they got to play with the growing human, but it was one of his favorites.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peri the Pessimistic Pretzel belongs to my buddy [Sikowny](https://twitter.com/Sikowny), check him out!
> 
> Want to know more about the pair? Check out [Peri the Pessimistic Pretzel](https://chibitabathasloves.tumblr.com/post/159843311482/peri-the-pessimistic-pretzel) and [Peri Doesn’t “Sprechen sie Deutsch”](https://chibitabathasloves.tumblr.com/post/160166588662/peri-doesnt-sprechen-sie-deutsch). I wrote both of these.
> 
> Want to know what he looks like? [Click here!](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/285424726925639680/445025286837370890/unknown.png)

Finally, the band was no longer playing on the streets. Busking as it was called. They were starting to get gigs at actual venues! Sung couldn’t be more excited about it. The only problem: their number one ‘fan’ was too young to get in to some of the venues. A pouting child was no laughing matter.    
  
Eventually Hogan suggested they sneak her in the back, a helper, staff. If she couldn’t be exposed to the poison it was fine right? That was another thing, human’s enjoyed poisoning their bodies with alcohol. He would have it from time to time, it was much more Meouch’s preferred drink. Yet these humans, in most venues, would just go nuts. Drink to the point of passing out or worse, an actual toxic level that had to be dealt with by medics.    
  
With permission from her parents, Tabby would sit on an unused amp just off to the side of the stage. She would bring them water and towels after their shows. Babbling about how awesome they were. She would help them touch up the paint on their armor when it began to wear off. She did this for years, until they got their first road tour. When they left she was just finishing the eighth grade, the shiny soft age of 12. When they came back, smiling and laughing, she was 13, in high school and very angry with them.   
  
“I thought you guys left to go back to where you came from! You didn’t tell me anything! Or my folks! How could you?” she slammed the door in his face.   
  
When he got back into the house, the despondency written all over his face, he sighed. “Yo, did she not like the gift dude?” the Commander leaned out the kitchen door, mug of coffee in hand.   
  
“She wouldn’t even talk to me. She was really mad,” he gently set the gift bag down by the door and headed inside. Pulling a mug down from one of the cupboards he sighed, “She was really upset that we just...left. Hogan was right, we should have sent postcards or something.”   
  
“She’ll come around dude, don’t sweat it,” Meouch clapped him on the back and retreated upstairs to his room.   
  
Walking over to the sliding door into their backyard he spied Phobos standing on the bench signing. No way! Why was he able to talk to them! Wait… Did his neighbors learn sign language? Were humans capable of telepathy? When did they evolve to-   
  
Laughter, he could hear it through an open window. Phobos passed something small over the fence and waved. When the Lord saw him lurking in the door he took a defensive step back and waved slightly. Sung could only narrow his eyes. They stood like that for quite some time. Just staring at each other, unmoving.    
  
“You look like you’re hunting an animal, dude, relax,” the Commander placed a hand on his shoulder and broke the spell. “Phob’s was sending her postcards on the down-low. Didn’t want you to know. Said you deserved someone being a little angry at you for being so absorbed,” the Commander clapped him on the back.   
  
“That’s not fair!” he turned towards Phobos again and just pouted at him.    
  
Phobos walked back over to the house and entered through the sliding door, ‘ _ You should have listened _ ,’ he signed.   
  
“I didn’t think she’d be so mad?” he scuffed his foot against the carpet.   
  
‘ _ Hogan sent her gifts, Meouch took pictures. You were the only one that did nothing _ ,’ Phobos crouched down so he could see the signs.   
  
He grumbled, “Of course they did. Why didn’t you guys push it more?”   
  
“WE TRIED DOCTOR. YOU WOULDN’T HAVE ANY OF IT,” Hogan stated from behind him.   
  
Sung just huffed and retreated to the basement. I mean being wrong was something that could happen, and he wasn’t just going to jump back in time to fix his mistake would he? Was it worth it? He shook his head and grabbed his keytar, if anything he’d at least try to focus on playing for a bit.   
  
Footsteps on the stairs drew him out of his thoughts, glancing at the sheets filled with notes around him. He’d have to organize those later. A small feminine clearing of the throat drew his attention to the stairs. Tabby stood there with her hands on her hips, “Mom told me you idiots haven’t left the house since you got back. So we made you dinner.”   
  
He could feel his smile splitting his face, “I was invited too?”   
  
“Well duh. But if you want to stay down here and starve or whatever. That’s your choice,” she turned and went back up the stairs.   
  
The sound of the front door closing snapped him out of his happy thoughts, he wasn’t completely hated! He could fix this! He bounded up the stairs, two at a time, and snagged the gift he got her on his way out. He could hear laughter from the backyard, so instead of knocking he just went past the gate. Taking a deep breath he steeled himself to get some ugly looks. He could do this. He just had to apologize. Right? Besides, she was still a child. How long could she stay mad at him?   
  
The answer was a really long time. Or what felt like it anyways. Phobos liked to point out the girl’s new set of earrings she always wore, iridescent stars, he got that for her. Hogan pointed out the ridiculous birdbath in their backyard, he got that for the family, naked cherubs and all. Meouch got a disposable camera from the girl, a smile and a thanks for all the cool pictures he took. Yet anytime he tried to approach her she would just turn and walk away. He got her such cool curtains too, he just wanted to give them to her and apologize. The gift bag, once shiny and sparkly was now dull and tattered. The gift inside sill pristine. He didn’t want to get a new bag, maybe if he did she’d just think he was trying to buy her forgiveness.   
  
“I think you should talk to him. He’s been super bummed lately. It’s starting to get on my nerves,” he heard Meouch’s voice coming from the backyard.   
  
“Why?” Tabby’s voice huffed.   
  
“Look Tabs, I get that you’re mad. But when he saw what he wanted to get you, he was happy. He didn’t think of himself when he got it. I think you’ll see that when you see it,” Sung turned away from the conversation. Eavesdropping was wrong. Yet he had the tattered gift bag in hand, and was out the door, his body on full autopilot. Approaching the bench pressed flush against fence he nodded at Meouch, who only offered a small smile.   
  
“Tabby, I got this for you,” he didn’t even hesitate in tossing it over the fence.    
  
He climbed up next to Meouch to look over the fence. “If I open it will you stop looking like a kicked puppy all the time?” her soft face was frowning up at him.   
  
“Yes,” he answered, watching her pick up the poor beaten bag.   
  
“This has seen better days huh?” she said absently, turning the gift from side to side. Pulling out the tissue paper, she let it drift down beside her. Her eyes widened as she drew out the fabric from the bag, “Wow…” her voice was awed. Black curtains with stars, constellations and planets slowly made their way out of the beaten bag. “I love it?” she looked up confused at the two aliens.   
  
“Well you’ve been into space for a few years now, so I figured you’d like them,” he shrugged. Turning away from her and Meouch with a sigh, “But I know you don’t want to talk to me, so I’ll get going.”   
  
“Hey!” she called over the fence. He stopped to look at the fence, “I’ll see you at your show Friday night!”   
  
Like the girl said, she was at their show, helping the sound guys set up amps and speakers. He couldn’t help but smile, human relations were easy! He could do this! Friends! He pumped himself up, he could do this.   
  
The girl kept growing, and stayed their friend the whole time. She would cat sit for them when they picked up a super young Dangus. Telling them she’d just kidnap him and keep him for herself. She was probably the reason he was getting so big. They went to her high school graduation party, and by went, they mean played. They did covers, they did their own songs, they just danced and had a blast in their neighbor’s backyard. It was small and fun and definitely better than any birthday party the girl had had her whole life.   
  
The girl went straight into university, studying: “Space, duh.” She spent less time at home and more time at her part-time job at a local coffee shop, either working or studying. She would still go to their shows, but she also went out to parties.   
  
One of her friends who she began dragging to clubs with her was most peculiar. He was basically a normal looking fellow, but instead of a neck or head, he had a pretzel. Honestly all of the band would press up against the windows to see what was going on. Were they dating? Did they break a human child into only loving things that were different? It was all so curious.   
  
One night after the two had left to go to a club the guys all settled in for some good ol' fashioned Smash. It was something all of them could play together and Tabby had given them the system for Christmas. The small quaint cube design making it easy to bring with them on tour as well. After a couple of rounds, a panicked banging sounded at their door.   
  
Meouch, spooked by the sound, curled around Hogan. Hogan cradled the lanky creature curled around his frame. Phobos clutched his chest like a human might if they were having a panic induced heart murmur. He of course, just looked towards the door, “Did anyone order food?”    
  
“NEGATIVE,” Hogan’s robotic voice was muffled by all the cat man wrapped around him.   
  
The pounding sounded again, more frantic than before. “Then who?” he slowly moved towards the front door. Instead of using the eyehole to see who was on their stoop, he just opened the door. Tabby practically threw herself at him, her pretzel friend standing right behind her. “Whoa! Tabby?” he could hardly think of a reason she would be so panicked.   
  
“She’s here!” she looked up at him with wild eyes, dyed hair an absolute mess.   
  
“Who?” he couldn’t keep up with her, that was a first.   
  
“Computer Wife!” her small hands dug into his arms and she shook him. “Computer Wife was dancing at the club! I just know it was her! You have to come-”   
  
“No,” he cut her off.   
  
“But-”   
  
“But nothing. She’s happy now. She’s dancing, just like I programmed her to, correct?” he tried to smile down at her but he wasn’t sure he was managing.   
  
“Tabatha, I told you it was a waste of time,” her friend spoke, they were, male?   
  
“But Peri,” she turned, “pessimism doesn’t solve this.”   
  
Sung stifled a chuckle, Peri the Pessimistic Pretzel, that was great. Shaking his head, “I’ll talk to her, thank you for bringing her all this way Peri. You’re a good friend.”   
  
The pretzel scoffed, “She’s just too nice to me,” he said to no one in particular. “See you at class tomorrow Tabatha,” Peri waved before retreating into the night.   
  
All the girl could do was wave at her friend as Sung closed the door. “Do you want something hot to drink?” he looked over their guest, short-shorts and tank top were hardly weather appropriate, although the Canadian chill hadn’t quite set in yet.   
  
She just sorta nodded, wandering into the house on her own. When she got to the couch, Meouch had already untangled himself from Hogan, and Phobos had a blanket ready for the girl. Once she had the blanket wrapped around her shoulders and she was on the couch, Dangus curled up in her lap. Once Sung had the hot cup of tea in her hands she seemed to relax a bit. “She was dancing, and I thought I should tell you. I don’t know why I panicked so much,” she laughed looking into her mug.   
  
“Because you saw a friend’s ex,” Meouch laid a hand on her head. “One who quite literally called and said she was leaving him.”   
  
“Commander!” Sung hissed.   
  
“I was there, don’t even try to fake it,” the pirate crossed his arms.   
  
‘ _ He was fine when he told me _ ,’ Phobos signed.   
  
“He wasn’t right after he heard the message. His eyes got real red from crying. That’s why he wore his helmet when he went to see you,” Meouch smirked.   
  
“He didn’t want you to worry Lord Phobos…” Tabby’s soft voice was hard to hear.   
  
Phobos sat on the other side of the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. Glaring up at Sung, he hugged the girl softly.    
  
“Alright, I guess I have some things I need to talk about. So why don’t we all get comfortable okay?” he offered nervously. Four pairs of eyes trained on to him and he gulped, this was going to be a long night.   



	3. Chapter 3

He built Computer Wife because he was bored. Because he was lonely. Making her with a simple A.I., designing her to dance, it took no time at all. She was slightly smaller than he was, all curves and polished metal. He would spend hours just dancing with her, just killing time, trying to fill that void in his heart. When he first came across Phobos’ planet she was still just a regular robot.   
  
After a few more leaps back, more failed attempts to save Phobos and Meouch. He needed more help around the ship. He spent time tinkering with her framework, seeing how he could integrate her into the ship. Expanding on her simple A.I., making upgrades. Tinkering with the chassis of his ship. Eventually he asked her politely to help him, if she would give up her body to help him with the ship. Thankfully she said yes, he was so relieved.   
  
It only helped a little bit. He watched his future friends die, multiple times. It started to get to him, and Computer Wife was there for him the whole time. Crunching numbers and running simulations using variables they had already experienced. Eventually, eventually her simulations helped him save his friends. Not for very long.   
  
When he started trying to save Hogan things went south. Instead of watching them die from a distance he was now watching them get murdered in front of him. He tried using an artificial heart at first, but every time he did Hogan would shred Phobos and Meouch, tearing them limb from limb. The heart was a no go. He tried a small motor, that was a mistake. No one could hear the cyborg coming. He would just snuff the life out of his friends in the night. Next he tried an actual transplant, procuring hearts was easy, albeit gruesome. That was also a bad idea. Nothing could ever erase the image of a blood drenched Hogan with a knife.   
  
Computer Wife was the one that suggested the 808 drum kit be used, said that it was the best course of action. By then she had left though, if she had been wrong he would have been doomed to watching his friends suffer and die. Without her, alone, again.   
  
A hand rested on his back, “You had to go through a lot. But you’re here now Doctor Sung. Go. Find her. Thank her.” He looked at the small human, she hadn’t grown very tall. She was almost his height, and he smiled at her. She could hardly understand how he felt. Heck his bandmates probably didn’t either. Yet they were all there, offering him soft smiles in support.   
  
“It’s the only way you’re going to be able to put the past behind you man,” Meouch slung an arm over his shoulder. “I’ll go with you since I’m less conspicuous than glow-boy over there,” he stuck his thumb in Phobos’ direction.   
  
‘ _ On the contrary. I would blend in better, people thinking I’m using black light paints or makeup _ ,’ Phobos sulked.   
  
“Why don’t you all go, you all need to thank her right?” Tabby smiled at each one of them. “From the sounds of it, if it wasn’t for her, you wouldn’t be here making kick-ass music, right?”   
  
They all stopped and stared at her, she was right. Even if they didn’t interact with her directly for as long as Sung had, she had brought them together. They all needed to thank her, to help Sung close the door on his past so he could focus on the now. “SHALL I DRIVE?” Hogan stood from where he had been seated.   
  
“Yeah dude, that’d be awesome,” Sung smiled at his friends.   
  
Tabby let out a yawn, tired eyes glancing at the small watch on her wrist. “Yeah, I think you should rain check your excursion. Clubs are closed,” a nail tapped the face of the watch.    
  
His heart sank into his feet, what if she wasn’t around the next night, or the night after? “Shit,” he frowned.    
  
“Hey, I’ll text my friends, maybe they’ve seen her around, we’ll find her Sung,” she squeezed his arm. Yawning into her hand, she blinked, “Woooof, I am tired. I’m out, see you later space dudes.”   
  
Phobos walked her to the door, locking it with a soft click that could even be heard in the living room. When the long haired man returned they all glanced at each other, ‘ _ Well, what’s the plan _ ?’   
  
“Is there a plan? God I need a smoke,” Meouch ran a hand through his mane.   
  
“I DON’T BELIEVE THERE IS A PLAN JUST YET,” the cyborg pitched in.   
  
“I just don’t know guys. Do we split up? Do we wait to hear from social networking? Like I’m not even sure where to start and my brain is racing,” Sung gripped his hair in frustration.   
  
“PERHAPS LADY TABATHA HAD A GOOD IDEA BY RETIRING FOR THE NIGHT,” Hogan trained his red beams onto Sung.   
  
Meouch laughed, “Dude I can’t believe you still call her that!” he clutched his stomach leaning over.   
  
“WHAT IS WRONG WITH CALLING THE LADY OF THE HOUSE AS SUCH?” the cyborg tilted his head.   
  
Sung bit his lip, stifling his own laughter, “Lady as a title is such an outdated term, but it’s given me an idea for a song. So thanks Hogan. I think I’ll go work on that before I get some sleep.”   
  
Phobos frowned and grabbed his elbow before he could retreat fully, ‘ _ Promise you won’t just stay down there all night, okay _ ?’   
  
“Yeah, I need to be rested if we’re going looking for Computer Wife, right?” he smiled and patted his friend’s shoulder. “I promise I won’t be there all night.”   
  
Phobos didn’t look convinced, but he signed his farewells before heading upstairs. The other two band members following after him shortly after. With his friends upstairs, he made sure to close the basement door tight. He didn’t want to disturb them, especially with their light sleeping habits.   
  
How much time passed while he was down there? Minutes? Hours? He couldn’t tell. He just plucked away at the keys of his keyboard, sound turned way down. After what felt like the millionth hour, and most certainly a broken promise, he stumbled up the stairs. With bleary eyes he glared at the glass sliding door, it was still dark out. Maybe he was more tired than he thought. He stumbled up the second flight of stairs and into his room. Tripping over a dumbbell he landed half on his bed, half not. Man his knees were going to be sore. He didn’t even care, he just crawled into his bed.   
  
He closed his eyes, his brain finally giving way to sleep. Cool metal, soft movements, she danced along the fringes of his dreams. Tabby was right, he had to say goodbye, have that sense of closure. Drifting further into his mind, eventually he found calming peace. When he opened his eyes, the sun had drifted well past his eastern facing window. Shit. He slept in.   
  
He stumbled down the hall and down the stairs, the smell of pancakes floating through the air. Blinking blearily at the kitchen he followed his nose. Meouch was hunched over the stove, frowning at the pan, muttering to himself. Phobos approached him with a mug of coffee in his hands. The guitarist pressed the mug into his hands, ‘ _ I think you could use this right now _ .’ With a soft smile, he exited the kitchen, long hair trailing behind him.   
  
“Yeah, thanks,” he sorta just blinked at the mug. “Whatcha making Meouch?”   
  
“Vegan pancakes. I know you’re a vegetarian, it’s not the same thing. I know. But this had ingredients we had access to and I have no idea what you normally eat for breakfast since you’re awake before I am a thousand percent of the time,” Meouch was sassing him, but it was the normal sass, nothing strange or forced.   
  
“I can’t say I’ve had pancakes, thanks man,” he took a seat at the table. Nursing the mug of liquid energy he watched the taller alien working at the stove. To be perfectly honest, he was the only one who could cook. After the first time Phobos set the stove on fire, and Hogan managed to explode pasta all over the kitchen, the bassist put his foot down. No one from the band was allowed to operate anything other than the microwave. Sung included but since he was up at the crack of dawn everyday perhaps the Commander thought he was using the appliances without his knowledge. He always had fruit salad or just an apple.    
  
“Here you go, vegan pancakes. It’s going to be odd but if you don’t know what they’re supposed to taste like you should be okay,” the Commander placed the plate down in front of him. “Should taste better with syrup, got the good stuff that’s all real, none of that fake stuff.”   
  
He eyed the amber liquid with some trepidation, “What is it?”   
  
“Maple syrup, you know, that thing they pour in the snow that you go nuts for?” a single brow raised in his direction.   
  
He loved maple taffy, “I love that! Awesome!”   
  
“How can you not know the country's biggest export? Mister I know a lot of weird facts and stuff,” Meouch scoffed.   
  
“Haha, whoops,” he laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. Like suggested he poured the amber liquid onto his pancakes. He took a knife and fork, easily slicing into the fluffy food item. Bringing the pancake to his mouth he popped the morsel into his mouth and chewed. The flavor was light and the syrup was complimentary. “This is really good?” he blinked up at the chef.   
  
“Yeah? I’m about to have some myself, but you don’t know what they’re supposed to taste like. So I’ll have to be the judge,” the taller sat down at the table, his own plate rattling slightly.   
  
They ate in silence, the soft sound of the knives and forks hitting the plates. “Thank you, this was really good,” he offered a small smile.   
  
“Honestly, real pancakes are better, but this wasn’t so bad,” the Commander leaned back in his chair.    
  
He laughed a little, “If you say so man.”   
  
“WHAT IS YOUR PLAN OF ACTION DOCTOR?” Hogan’s voice cut through the soft atmosphere of the kitchen.   
  
He jumped in his chair slightly, “Hogan, dude, don’t scare me like that.”   
  
Meouch laughed at them, “Of course he scared you, you always sit with your back to the door, I don’t know how he hasn’t scared you before this,”   
  
The shortest slammed his hands on the table, “He has! That’s besides the point!”   
  
Hogan just glanced between the short fuming man and the tall laughing man and shrugged slightly, “I AM STILL WAITING DOCTOR.”   
  
“Oh right a plan, well see I was thinking we could see what Tabby’s social networking will bring about. More eyes are better than just a small group of four right?” he scratched the back of his head.   
  
“VERY WELL I WILL SPEAK WITH LADY TABATHA ABOUT THIS IMMEDIATELY,” Hogan left the room as silently as he came.   
  
“Dude do you even understand how he thinks? Or is that foreign to all of us still?” Meouch scratched at his mane.   
  
Sung shook his head, “Not a clue how he thinks. Probably more on a logical spectrum than you or I.”   
  
“Yeah, that makes sense. Well I can trust you to do the dishes right? It’s time for my nap and I get mega snarky if I don’t get in my nap,” Meouch pushed away from the table and also headed for the door. “Don’t worry, Tab knows the city probably even better than we do. We’ll find Computer Wife, and we can all thank her for everything she’s done for us,” and just like that he slipped out the door.   
  
Sung smiled looking down at his empty plate, the soft silence of the kitchen pressing in on him. The cooling unit of the refrigerator whirring slightly, his soft breaths, the pounding of his blood in his ears. It wasn’t heavy though. If it wasn’t for the band, the humans next door, all his experiences up until now, he may have just given up. This would shape him too, would be something he could look back on one day. He hoped that his friends would be able to as well.   



	4. Chapter 4

Waiting on Tabatha had been a good idea, for the most part. Several blurry images of Computer Wife dancing at clubs flooded his phone. All with date stamps. From the first image to the most recent they spanned over several months. She only got to the Toronto dance scene recently, just coming up from somewhere in the states. Probably New York, geographically speaking it made a lot of sense to stop at Toronto on the way up to Montreal’s music scene. Some of the images were taken at the same club, and it looked like a rotating pattern.   
  
Tabatha all but kicked down the door to their house, “I GOT YOU A GIG AT THE CLUB!” punctuated by the door slamming against the wall.   
  
Phobos clutched his chest, his breathing picking up. Meouch had jumped clean over the couch he was lounging on. Hogan just looked between the two spooked band members, “LADY TABATHA, PERHAPS YOU COULD KNOCK AS TO NOT SPOOK ANYONE OR CAUSE UNDUE DISTRESS.”   
  
“Right. Yeah. Sorry,” she shut the door quietly behind her.   
  
Sung hardly budged from the chair he was seated in, rolling her words over in his head. “You got us a gig? Where exactly?” he squinted at her.   
  
Unphased by Sung’s collected demeanor the young human turned her bright eyes on him, “So I’m sure from the zillion photos I sent you, you realized she rotates clubs yeah? Well the one she should be at tonight does live performances! I made a call and hooked you guys up,” her smile was triumphant.   
  
“Yo, good work short-stack,” Meouch shot her thumbs up.   
  
“I’m taller than Sung, you mangy feline,” she crossed her arms over her chest and smiled smugly at him.   
  
Phobos shook his head, ‘ _ You’re still shorter than I am _ ,’ he smiled playfully.   
  
“Yeah yeah, mock the tiny human. Anyways; You guys up for an impromptu concert?” she smiled at each one in turn.   
  
“Fuck yea!” the bassist pumped his fist into the air, the drummer and guitarist joining him silently.   
  
“Sung?” the bright eyes quickly melted into a concerned frown.   
  
“Yeah, I have the perfect song for us to play too,” he offered up a soft smile. “We’ll have to run it through from now until we leave for the show, when do we have to be there?”   
  
The human girl hissed, “Yessss.” Pumping her fist up into the air, “I’ll forward you the details. I’ll see you there for set up, okay?”   
  
He nodded, “Sounds like a plan.”   
  
Honestly when he showed the guys the song, he didn’t think they would be open to it. How wrong he was, “So, this part here,” Meouch and Phobos were facing each other, playing the parts, doing their best to learn it. Hogan was in the soundproof room, banging away, getting the tempo and rhythm down. They were all running it through, and even if it sounded a little rough, that was okay with him. He wanted her to hear it.   
  
Glancing at his phone again he smiled at the sheer amount of emojis on his screen. Tabby said she was going to head in early, that she would make sure everything was set up for them. Was going to make Peri help her. Told him to take their time, that she was rooting for them. He smiled, honestly he couldn’t thank the girl enough.   
  
They practiced and practiced and practiced. When they took breaks they talked about their set list. Which songs would best be played at the club. Finally it was time, they all piled into the van and set off. Meouch reading the directions out loud to Sung from his phone, the girl’s directions clear and precise.    
  
When they entered the back of the club they saw Tabby in an old sweater, arms rolled up and jean shorts, “No! Peri, over there. Yes! Perfect!” she was shouting to her friend they couldn’t quite see. She turned, “Oh, you guys are early!” She pulled her phone out of her back pocket, “Sound check isn’t for another twenty. Get changed before you scare the others. Especially Phobs, he’s doing the glowing thing. Phobs! What did I tell you about direct sunlight,” she turned her burning gaze towards the glowing member of the band.   
  
‘ _ Not to go out in direct sunlight without sunblock or appropriate clothing _ ,’ he did not look at the human as he signed.   
  
“That’s right, because your skin is phosphorescent. It traps the UV and stores the energy and releases it later. That’s why I had Sung design the special sunblock for you,” she let out a long sigh. “I don’t have time for this. Go, shoo. Get changed.”   
  
“You heard her, let’s go guys,” Meouch waved her off and headed down the hall she pointed down. The rest of the band followed, bags with their ‘costumes’ in hand. They changed in relative silence, with Hogan just charging in the corner, his low power mode dimming his eyes from glaring red to soft crimson.    
  
Phobos brought his helmet over to Sung, he turned it over in his hands looking at the updated filter he had put in after they had collected Hogan. “Yeah I’ll clean this out when we get home. Might have to put in a new filter, don’t want any Funk leaking through,” he handed the helmet back to the dark skinned alien. “You’re good to use it tonight.”   
  
The guitarist nodded, smiling softly before tugging the helmet on. Sung pulled his own helmet on, making sure the strap was firmly in place. A soft knock on the door, “We’re ready for your sound check boys,” Tabby stuck her head in the door. Instantly her eyes lit up, “Every time you guys put on your space gear it makes me so happy. We’ll see you on stage.”   
  
The band walked back out towards the stage, all their stuff moved from the van onto the stage. The pretzel man, creature, person, was on the far side of the stage, sitting on an amp looking exhausted. Tabby pushed a bottle of water towards him with a large smile. Sung could only smile, the only reason they were here was at her insistence and it was going to be worth it.   
  
The sound check went smoothly, soon after they were off stage and the club started playing music. The venue slowly started to fill, chatter mixing with the beat of the music, the vibe of the empty building slowly changing. They could see their neighbour across the stage, glancing at her phone, then around the wall sheltering her from most of the view of the crowd. She must have seen something favorable because she gave them the thumbs up before signalling to the DJ to cut the track. The upbeat dance music cut, and the track they used to signal their appearance started up. The soft ‘space sounds’ played for what felt like an eternity before Tabby signaled them to start onto the stage.   
  
Hogan went first, red beams locking onto the crowd. As he walked out he shifted to his full height and brought his thumb across his neck in an exaggerated manner. Phobos followed after, pumping his fists into the air as he walked across the stage. Meouch went next even though he didn’t have nearly as far to walk, and he shot finger guns into the crowd, waved to the folks in the back. Sung jogged out after his bandmates, his friends. He waved and bounced around and was generally full of energy.    
  
“Gooooood evening Toronto! How y’all doing tonight?” Meouch bellowed into the microphone. Screaming from the crowd in front of them, “I said: HOW YOU ALL DOING TOOOONIGHT?” the screams were louder.    
  
“We’re the Tupper Ware Remix Party, you may not have heard of us but we’re based here in Toronto,” he followed up. He introduced them by name and instrument, in order from how they came out onto stage.   
  
“And?” Meouch prompted.   
  
“We’re from the past!   
  
“And?”   
  
“We’re also from the future!”   
  
“And?”   
  
“We’re from outer space!”   
  
“And?”   
  
“We’re from Toronto, Canada!” with those last words the crowd went wild. They cut right into their first song, an upbeat dance cover perfect for the club atmosphere.   
  
Sung danced and played, it was all sort of a blur to him, his eyes now focused on the one body catching the lights. Computer Wife was here. Just like Tabby said she’d be. Perfect.   
  
“ Hello, no one is available to take your call. Please leave your message after the tone ,” the recorded track he got earlier in the day sounded through the crowd.   
  
“ Hello, this is your Computer Wife. I'm leaving you for a new operating system. Goodbye ,” the familiar voice echoed in his head and rang out across the crowd.    
  
As he sang the words to the song Computer Wife, he made eye contact with her. Even if she couldn’t see it. Like the band thought, the song was rather rough sounding but it didn’t matter. They had her attention now. Just as the song was about to near its conclusion, he saw Tabby head out towards the A.I.. The two female’s exchanged words, and the human led the chrome woman towards the backstage.   
  
Now he was nervous, clearly she was okay with talking to them, but what was he going to say? What were his friends going to say? What was Tabby saying to her right now? He wasn’t sure how he kept his voice steady through any of the songs and was relieved for JapanQuest. He could try and drown his thoughts out through movement. It was an exercise in futility.    
  
What felt like an eternity passed, his voice felt raw, his legs tired. This was not normal for the end of any show. Usually he was high on the energy, and had to run around the block to burn off the energy. As they exited the stage and the regular club music picked up, panic laced his veins.   
  
“You guys did great out there! Everyone looked like they were having an absolute blast!” Tabby handed them water bottles and towels. Her pretzel friend was nowhere to be seen. “Peri went home, he has tests to study for,” she offered him a smile.   
  
“And Computer Wife?” he dabbed at his chin and took a swig of water.   
  
“She’s waiting for you guys to change first, I’ll bring her over when you’re ready,” Tabby slapped a hand against his bicep. She shook her hand out, hissing in pain slightly. “I’m going to start cleaning up the stage,” she moved past them and onto the dim stage.    
  
Meouch grabbed his elbow and tugged him towards the dressing room, “Don’t dawdle, I know you’re nervous man. This has to get done. For all of us.”   
  
He smiled up at the bassist, “You’re right. Thanks Meouch.”   
  
This time when they changed in silence, it was different. The room filled with this sort of nervous energy. This time when the knock sounded at the door they all jumped, “Ready?” Tabby stuck her head in the door.   
  
“What if we weren’t huh? You’d be mentally scarred for life kiddo,” Meouch smiled at her playfully.   
  
“You know I’m not bothered by it or interested. Well, I might be interested with what’s under Hogan’s hood, but that’s more of a scientist thing,” she shrugged.   
  
“Yeah we’re ready, thank’s for this Tabatha,” Sung offered her a small smile.   
  
She pulled a face, “Ew, you’re using my name, who are you?”   
  
He laughed at that, “Yeah, yeah. Let’s go guys.”   
  
Not even five feet outside the room and there she was, the A.I. he had built from scratch. “ _ Doctor Sung _ ,” her soft robotic voice greeted him.   
  
“Computer Wife,” he nodded at her.   
  
“ _ It is a pleasure to see you are doing well. That you’ve been surviving _ ,” her head nodded at the band. “ _ But this is not the place to talk. I’m sure they’ll want you to get all of your stuff out of here soon _ .”   
  
“Already done. But she’s right, why don’t we head to my place? We can sit in the backyard,” Tabby offered up to them.   
  
“ _ Thank you miss, please, lead the way _ ,” Computer Wife signaled for the human to lead her.   
  
“We’ll catch you dudes at my place. Don’t get lost coming back,” Tabby grabbed the robot’s hand and waved with her other. The two quickly retreating from the building.   
  
“Shall we?” Meouch motioned to the door their van was waiting behind.   
  
“Yeah, let’s go,” Sung nodded and pushed out the backdoor into the ally beyond.


	5. Chapter 5

“WHY IS THERE A ROBOT IN MY BACKYARD?!” they could hear Tabatha’s mother yelling as they pulled up into their driveway. “I SWEAR TO JESUS IF THIS IS ANOTHER ONE OF SUNG’S ‘EXPERIMENTS’,” he could hear the exaggerated way she said experiments and could imagine the air quotes around it, “AND IT LEAVES ANOTHER GODDAMNED CRATER IN OUR BACKYARD YOU’RE THE ONE CLEANING IT UP!” By the end of her rant the band had already gotten out of the van. They could sort of hear Tabby talking but not enough to make out the words, “I MEAN IT YOUNG LADY! MARK MY WORDS! YOU’LL BE FIXING THE CRATER!” their neighbour's back door slammed shut. Guess she was still sore about the ‘Rocket Fuel Barbeque’, mind you it had left a sizeable chunk of land missing after it caught fire and launched into the stratosphere.   
  
The band slowly rounded the corner of their neighbour’s house, the small outdoor patio set the only thing in the open. Computer Wife was sitting at the table and the human was nowhere in sight. They all slowly approached the table Sung sat across the table from the A.I., Phobos beside him on his left, Meouch on the guitarist’s left, Hogan across from Meouch. That left a spot open beside Computer Wife, Sung assumed Tabby would sit there as a mediator of sorts. Speak of the devil and he shall appear, “Hey guys, I brought you drinks,” the girl exited the back of the house and was carrying a tray with only four cups.   
  
“Thanks Tab,” Meouch took an offered glass. Hogan nodded his thanks as he took one as well.   
  
Phobos signed his thanks, gently taking the glass from her hand, “No problem guys.” Sung hardly noticed the glass set near his hand, his eyes staring straight at the robot he built. “It’s rude to stare,” Tabby whispered by his ear, startling him out of his non-existent staring contest. “You got this,” she gently pat his back.   
  
“Thanks Tabby,” he offered her a small smile. She just waved him off and went over to the back stoop, sitting on the concrete. Moments after she had her phone out and he could see her scrolling through one of the many sites she frequented. Good chance it was Tumblr.   
  
“ _ It is nice to see you again Doctor Sung, Lord Phobos, Commander Meouch. A pleasure to make your acquaintance finally Havve Hogan. It was certainly difficult to extract you safely _ ,” her head shifted around the table as she used their full names.   
  
“Look, Computer Wife-” Meouch started.   
  
“ _ Tölvukona _ ,” the robot interrupted.   
  
“Uh, Tolu-” Meouch tried again.   
  
“ _ Tölvukona _ ,” she repeated, “ _ it is Icelandic _ .”   
  
“That’s a lovely name Tölvukona,” Sung offered her a small smile. She wasn’t the same A.I. that left the voicemail, she wasn’t the same as the A.I. that danced with him for the first time. A lump formed in his throat, tears pricking at his eyes. It wasn’t a bad feeling, but it also felt like something in his chest was dieing.   
  
“Anyways, Tölvukona,” Meouch managed it this time, “we all wanted to thank you.”   
  
Phobos signed, ‘ _ It was an honor to meet you, thank you for saving my life _ ,’ Meouch saying the words out loud for the decided mute.   
  
“YES, I ALSO THANK YOU TÖLVUKONA,” Hogan added. “ALTHOUGH MY LUNGS ARE WEAK AND I REQUIRE ASSISTANCE BREATHING ON OCCASION, I WOULD NOT BE HERE NOW IF NOT FOR YOUR CALCULATIONS.”   
  
“Thanks Tölvukona,” the bassist leant backwards in his chair, “if it wasn’t for you I might have died out there in space. Alone. That’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”   
  
The band members all shifted their gaze to him, he quickly wiped at his damp eyes. “I want to thank you Tölvukona, for everything. I-I know I’m the one who built you, and I built you for dancing. But you’re also an A.I., and that means that you can change and grow. When I asked you to help me with the ship I sorta forgot that fact. I took you for granted, and for that I also want to apologize. I didn’t realize you were unhappy with the situation I asked you to be in. But you still helped me save my friends, you stayed with me until I saved them all. So for that I only have gratitude for you, from the very bottom of my heart,” he offered her the best smile he could muster, one filled with his profound gratitude. “I also just want to say I’m so happy to see you’re well and that you’ve changed and become even more amazing.”   
  
Tölvukona stayed silent a beat, “ _ I’m sorry for the way I left. I know you built me when you were lonely and needed someone around. But now that I see you all together, I am relieved. Thank you, Doctor Sung, for building me, for letting me live. It is a gift I will cherish _ .” __   
__   
With those words he began to cry, the dam letting loose the torrent of emotions he was trying to keep down and intact. Phobos rubbed small circles on his back as he watched his tears hit the glass table under him. They stayed like that a while, just the sound of his soft sniffles and the crickets surrounding the group of five.   
  
“ _ Thank you Tupper Ware Remix Party _ ,” the A.I. stood up from where she was seated, chair scraping against the ground, “ _ I wish you all the best. I look forward to hearing your music in the future, I know you’ll do well _ ,” even though she had no mouth to smile with, you could hear the smile in her voice.   
  
“We wish you all the best man,” Meouch offered as Sung was still busy crying into the table.   
  
He couldn’t watch her go, he was both happy and sad, the full weight of the mixed emotions bogging him down. This wasn’t like when he came home to a dead planet, this wasn’t like those long empty nights with no one to talk to. A small hand squeezed his shoulder, “You should drink the water Sung, it’ll help.”   
  
He looked up to Tabby, blinking fresh tears from his eyes. The worst part of this whole situation was the look of understanding on her face, he had bodily fluids leaking from his eyes and his nose and it was appalling. Yet the human was looking at him with understanding and sympathy, “Really?”   
  
“Come on, you’re the one who has to look after yourself and three other alien creatures. You’re telling me you don’t have to replace all the fluids leaking out of your face right now?” she laughed lightly.   
  
“Your face is disgusting bro,” the sound of the Commander’s lighter punctuated the sentence. “Seriously, drink the water.”   
  
“PHOBOS AND I WILL BE RETIRING. PLEASE LOOK AFTER THE DOCTOR. THANK YOU LADY TABATHA,” Hogan’s robotic sounding voice sounded slightly staticy, like it would cut out any moment.   
  
He watched as his two friends headed back to their abode, waving when Phobos did. Glancing up at the water, he tentatively reached for it. The cup was cool and the water seemed to just make everything in him feel better and worse. Eyes watering again with newfound moisture in his system, “I feel better and worse,” he spoke more into the cup then anything.   
  
“Well yeah, the water is hydrating you since you just started forcing out moisture through your eyes. You silly,” she ran a hand through his hair and it was soothing. Calling back to old times when she was much smaller and insisted on doing their hair. More tears traced down his cheeks.   
  
“You know, when I was kid and I saw you guys without your helmets for the first time I was floored,” she sat in the empty chair beside sung and offered him her hand. Gently he placed his larger hand in her smaller one, “You guys were so cool looking. Meouch was basically just a giant lion man, and I love cats. All the other kids were scared of him with his sharp teeth, but all I saw was a cool dude with awesome piercings. When I saw Phobs glowing the first time, it looked like pictures from my dad’s big book of space pictures. I was too small to remember at the time, but now I know that he reminds me of nebulas. Hogan was just this big, tall, cold robot. He was the weirdest of the bunch! But seeing him building furniture, learning that he needs a crazy space inhaler because his lungs don’t work so good with a drum kit jammed in his chest. It just felt like he was one of us you know. And you, Doctor Sung,” she squeezed his hand gently, “You have stars for freckles, and the Milky Way for hair. You were like the embodiment of space. It was always so amazing to watch the way your hair changed in the light, the way your freckles changed colour while you talked, or tilted your head.” Tabby smiled at him, “And you guys are still cool, even with the tears, and the snot, or whatever it is cause you’re an alien. Still cool. And I think that in the morning, when your eyes are swollen shut from crying so much, you’ll feel better. Nothing stays the same, everything is changing, always. Including you.”    
  
She gave his hand another squeeze and yawned, “I think it’s past someone’s bedtime,” the bassist chuckled.   
  
“It’s all gravy man,” she smiled at Meouch. “But I will go to bed I think. All that manual labor setting up the stage and taking it down must’ve just sapped my energy.” She squeezed Sung’s hand one more time, “You get some sleep too, okay? I promise it won’t be so bad in the morning.”   
  
He could only nod dumbly as she collected the cups she had brought out and retreated into her own house. The back porch light flicking off moments later.   
  
“Look we can stay out here all night, or you can listen to short stack,” the last man standing placed a hand on his shoulder. “I think some rest will do you good, even if you don’t sleep. A quick lay down.” Sung quietly nodded his head and followed the bassist back to their home. Once in the door, it was like his body hit autopilot. He had his shoes off and he was heading up the stairs two at a time. Down the hall, into his room, straight into bed. His eyes fixed on the ceiling, “Night man,” Meouch said softly from the door.   
  
Time was passing, he could feel it, but his mind was a swamp. Difficult to trudge through at best. Eventually he must have fallen asleep, after he had closed his eyes for what felt like a moment, he opened them to soft light peeking through his window. He rolled over, his eyes felt like they were swollen alright, just like the human said. Did he feel better though? He didn’t feel like he did last night, like his chest was being crushed. Was this feeling better? Drained? There was no way to be sure.   
  
His body was definitely still on autopilot, getting up and ready for his morning jog. The soft morning light warmed his face a little, doing gentle stretches on the front stoop. A lady and her dog jogged by and she waved at him. Confused he waved back, she never paid him any mind before, what’s the deal? For most of his jog, he was confused, everyone would greet him in some way and some of the morning folk actually  _ talked  _ to him. Everyone typically avoided the bright sunny alien, this was so bizarre.   
  
When he got back to the house, he could hear the sounds of the others moving about. Opening the door he heard Tabby squeal, like someone dumped cold water on her. Following the sounds brought him to the kitchen, Meouch and Tabby were by the stove cooking, Hogan at the table watching them with an unwavering gaze, and Phobos was nowhere to be seen.    
  
“Good morning Sung! How was your jog this morning? Not too warm out yet right?” Tabby hadn’t turned away from what she was minding on the stove.   
  
“It was weird, people talked to me?” he watched her back as she shifted slightly.   
  
“You didn’t wash your face right? Your eyes are probably red and swollen, your face is probably a little pale and blotchy,” without missing a beat she turned to look at him. “Yeah, you look like a hot mess dude.”   
  
“Oh,” was all he managed to muster. He wasn’t aware that he looked like hell, but that would explain why his eyes felt tired and swollen.   
  
Hogan patted his arm gently and then gave him a thumbs up. He just blinked at the cyborg, “Hogan lost his voice. Used it too much last night and the day before. You never fixed the wiring for his voice box,” the girl placed a plate in front of him. She moved towards the back door, opened it, “Phobs! Get your ass in here now! It’s breakfast time!” she just yelled into the backyard. The door shut softly behind her, “You tell a boy he has fifteen minutes and he goes out for twenty. Yeesh.”   
  
Meouch laughed sitting at the table beside Sung, placing another plate on the table beside him. “He does like to be out in the garden. You gave him the option to go out or wait,” the ex-pirate speared a piece of bacon on his fork.   
  
“Our first mistake as a planet was letting you four loose. My mistake was giving him an option,” she sighed and went over to the sink, running the water and grabbing the dish soap.   
  
The keytarist could only blink at her as she filled the sink, “Are you not eating with us Tabby?”   
  
“No I’m going to wash these dishes, make sure you’re alright then I’m headed to work,” she shot him a soft smile. “I ate before I came over, early shift today and all.” He could only nod and stare dejectedly at his plate, “Oh don’t be such a wimp, the guys will be here all day and I’ll come by after work. I promise.”   
  
At that he laughed a little, digging into his vegan pancakes. When Phobos finally wandered into the house the young girl lectured him. The taller of the two shrank into himself as she chewed him out. It was nice to see that this hadn’t changed. Just like a summer storm she had come and gone, headed out to work with quick goodbyes and promises to bring them coffee later.   
  
The guys ate in silence. That wasn’t strange either. When they were done they all went about their daily business. Meouch headed out with Hogan for groceries, Phobos back out the door into the garden, leaving him in the house. What did he normally do right now? Lift weights? Read? Tinker? He felt lost. Is this what Tabby meant when she said nothing stays the same?   
  
He wandered out the door into the sunlight. Meandering over to Phobos, crouching beside him and watching him. He had a small set of gardening shears, trimming the brown and dead parts from the small plants. After a moment, the guitarist offered him the shears. Gently he took the gardening tool, looking at the plants in front of him. His hands reached out to a stem with some dead leaves attached. The healthy green part felt cool and smooth in his hand, the dead part crunching softly as he cut it off. He looked to Phobos for confirmation that he did well. The taller smiled and nodded to him. He kept trimming the dead parts of the plants away, Phobos leaving and coming back with the garden hose. The taller pressed his thumb to the lip of the hose, the water spanning out and spraying in a fan instead of the soft flow from before. He held it up and over the plants so they would all get some water on them. Sung’s arms got wet, his hair slowly getting damp, clung to his forehead. Even though it wasn’t the most comfortable, he wasn’t complaining. It was nice, just the soft sound of the birds, squirrels and bugs, the sunlight, the company. The hose was turned on him, the spray of water making him jump out of his skin slightly. “Holy! That’s cold! What the hell man!” he laughed a little falling back on his ass.   
  
All he got was a smile from the troublemaker, and another face full of water. Scrambling to get away from the freezing water was difficult. “What are you two morons doing?” the bassist called from the back door.   
  
“Save me! He’s spraying me with water!” he laughed and ran at Meouch.   
  
“Oh hell no! You look like a drowned rat. Get away. No!” Meouch tried to dodge Sung, but couldn’t make it before the shorter wet man wrapped his arms around the other.   
  
The two struggled before they fell into a heap on the grass. Phobos joined in on the wrestling. Meouch was laughing finally as the three rolled around in the grass. When the door to the house opened and closed the three stopped to look up at Hogan. The tallest band member only shook his head and went back inside. They all shared a look before untangling and heading back inside, laughter still bubbling inside themselves.   
  
The rest of the day felt more ‘normal’ or what he felt that normal meant. When Tabby got back to their house they were all playing Smash on the GameCube. “How you feeling?” she sat on the arm of the couch and took the controller from him.    
  
He watched as she started racking up damage and smashing the other three off the stage. “Better,” he said confidently.   
  
“Change isn’t so bad huh?” she chewed on her lip slightly as she tried to get Hogan off the stage.   
  
“It’s not, you’re right,” he laughed as she got smashed off the stage. “The guys were here, and it was another day, like any other.”   
  
“I knew you would be fine,” she handed him the controller back and ruffled his hair slightly. “Ew, why is your hair wet and grassy?”   
  
“I did something different. I wasn’t sure what to do when everyone went to do their own thing. I decided to follow Phobos out into the garden. I helped cut the dead bits off plants. He watered the plants and then decided I needed to get sprayed down too,” he laughed.    
  
“You guys are so bizarre, but I guess that’s why I love you guys so much. Now, I bought some treats for Dangus instead of bringing you guys coffee. I love you, sorry, bye!” the girl got up and ran away laughing. Headed for the door, “I have to study, make sure you guys eat and don’t just play games all night!” A small tiny meow was heard by the door, soft cooing just before the door shut.   
  
“I wanted that coffee,” Meouch grumbled.   
  
‘ __ You can always walk over and get some. It’s only two in the afternoon ,’ Phobos leveled the laziest in the group with the most unimpressed look.   
  
“It’s too far away,” he whined.   
  
“IT’S ONLY FOUR BLOCKS,” Hogan interjected.   
  
Meouch only groaned. Sung smiled, things had changed, ever so slightly, but not enough that they all changed drastically. This is what Tabby had meant when she said things never stay the same. Maybe in a few years they’ll have a new console they’ll play games on, maybe they’ll do something else together. It didn’t matter. As long as he had his friends, as long as he had this lesson he learned from their next-door-neighbour, he would be able to face anything. Everyone, everything, they change and grow, himself included.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this all! And I hope you like the name chosen for Computer Wife, it's actually Icelandic for Computer Wife and I thought it was perfect. Let me know what you thought! :)


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